To Make
To prepare the eggplant, flour each piece on all sides, shake off any excess, then coat in egg wash, followed by panko breadcrumbs. You can do this ahead of time and refrigerate if desired.
To fry the eggplant, heat oil in a medium non-stick fry pan to a medium high heat. Fry in batches, turning once or twice until golden brown and crunchy. Drain well over a paper towel or a drying rack on a tray.
Preheat a medium non-stick fry pan to a medium high-heat. Stir-fry the curry paste until fragrant, deglaze, break up and thoroughly stir through water until a sauce is forming.
Add all vegetables and reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until vegetables have softened through.
To serve, place a bed of cooked Udon noodles followed by curry then topped with eggplant katsu, sauce and optional toppings.
Vegetables
Chargrilled Eggplant with Fish Sauce
To Make
Cover eggplants in salt and place in a large strainer to sit for 1 hour. Wash off salt well, pat dry with a paper towel.
To make dressing, place sugar, lime juice, Squid Brand Fish Sauce and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Mix through ginger, garlic and ½ cup of green spring onion tops. Set aside.
Rub oil over eggplants and white spring onions. Heat a large non-stick grill plate over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook eggplant for 2-3 mins each side until tender and charred. Set aside. Cook spring onions for 2-3 mins until slightly blistered and coloured.
Plate eggplants and spring onions with a drizzle of dressing over. Garnish with coriander and chilli, serve with steamed rice and remaining dressing.
Shiitake, Tofu and Teriyaki Soup Dumplings with Tempura Vegetables
To Cook
Place the teriyaki marinade, ginger, mushrooms & stock in a small saucepan and simmer until reduced by half.
Add in the agar agar and simmer until dissolved constantly stirring.
Once dissolved, pour the teriyaki sauce mix into a 20cm square pan. Leave to cool and set.
Meanwhile, combine the tofu, shiitake mushrooms, garlic chives, ginger and soy sauce, set aside.
Once teriyaki sauce mix has set, cut the jellied sauce into 1 cm cubes.
Using a rolling pin, gently roll the Gow Gee wrappers to make them slightly thinner, then fill with 1-2 tsp of the shiitake mushroom and tofu mixture, and 1-2 cubes of the jellied teriyaki sauce. Pleat the top and twist to enclose the filling.
Place in a lightly oiled steamer and steam until cooked through and translucent.
To make the batter, mix the flour, beaten egg and chilled soda water lightly.
Lightly dust the vegetables with plain flour, dip in the batter and cook in hot oil until crisp. Allow to drain on kitchen paper.
Mix the Kewpie mayonnaise, lime juice & wasabi paste (to taste).
Arrange the dumplings and tempura-battered vegetables on a platter with spoons.
Serve with lime and wasabi mayonnaise for dipping and garnish with radish, cucumber ribbons and spring onion curls.
Char Grilled Coconut Veggie Salad
To Cook
Cut asparagus, broccolini, carrots long ways into strips similar to the size of a chopstick. Cut brussel sprouts into halves and cut onion into thin strips.
Heat a frying pan and spray it with cooking oil. Add asparagus, broccolini, carrot and brussel sprouts, coating the veggies with cooking spray. Cook veggies on high heat until they just start to wilt.
Then add ¼ cup of water and cover with a lid for 1 min to trap in the steam and then turn off the heat. Let sit for 5 min.
Leaving water behind, remove veggies into a bowl and let cool for 10 mins.
Before turning the fry pan back on, add your onion, sauce ingredients, coconut cream, hot chilli sauce, soy sauce, ginger.
On medium heat cooking sauce for 2 min just to thicken it.
Add sauce, sesame seeds to veggies toss until well combined,
Once plated garnish using coriander, chilli, toasted peanuts
Makes 2 good-sized portions or 4 side serves.
Two-ways Yellow Curry
To Make
In a saucepan, begin heating enough water and add in salt. Once the water is boiling, toss in the sweet potatoes and boil for 3 mins. Then, add in the cauliflower and boil for further 2 mins. Lastly, add in the capsicum and cook for another 2 mins. Drain and set aside.
Heat up frying pan with 1 tbsp of oil and slightly pan-fry the firm tofu cubes on all sides. Set aside.
Add 1 tbsp of oil and slightly pan-fry the prawns on both sides until cooked. Set aside.
Using the same frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and fry the Valcom Yellow Curry Paste until bubbling.
Add in the coconut milk and stir until well combined. Then, add in light soy sauce and brown sugar, and continue stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Toss in the tofu and the blanched vegetables. Stir for 2 mins until all ingredients are completely coated with curry sauce. Remove half from the pan for the Vegetarian Yellow Curry.
Add prawns to the remaining Yellow Curry for the Meat Version.
Garnish the Two-Ways Yellow Curry with cut chillies and Thai sweet basil.
Note: For Vegetarian version only, skip steps 3 and 7.
Crispy Vegan Tofu with Yellow Curry and Vegetables
To Cook Tofu
Heat oil in a pot for deep-frying on medium-high heat.
Dust tofu with flour, then deep-fry until golden and crispy. Set aside.
To Cook Vegetables
Heat 1 tsp oil in medium heat pan, then add onions and cook for 30 secs.
Add Valcom Yellow Curry Paste to the pan and cook until fragrant. Then add green beans and baby corn, cooking for 2 mins.
Season with salt and sugar and mix well until sugar has dissolved, then turn off the fire.
Separate baby corn and green beans.
To Serve (2 Options)
Place sauce with onion on a plate followed by crispy tofu then green beans and corn on top.
Add deep fried tofu into the sauce and gently mix until the tofu is coated all over. Plate tofu, green beans and corn with onion and sauce.
Prawn Salad with Tom Yum Mayo
To Cook
Add mayonnaise, Valcom Tom Yum Paste, tomato sauce, oil (1 tbsp), water and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Set aside as salad dressing.
Mix prawns with fish sauce and black pepper.
Heat the remaining oil in a hot pan until the oil begins to smoke. Add prawns into the hot oil cooking them for about 30 secs each side.
To serve, arrange all the vegetables, avocado and prawns on the plate. Add some dressing on top or serve at the side.
Vegetarian Yellow Curry Bun
To Cook
Heat up frying pan with 1 tbsp of oil and slightly pan fry the firm tofu cubes on all sides. Set aside.
In a saucepan, begin heating enough water and add in salt. Once water is boiling, toss in sweet potatoes and boil for 3 mins. Then add in cauliflower and boil for 2 mins. Lastly, add in the capsicum and cook for another 2 mins. Drain and keep aside.
Using the same frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and fry the Valcom Yellow Curry Paste until bubbling.
Add in coconut milk and stir till well until combined. Then add in light soy sauce and brown sugar, stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Toss in the tofu then add the blanched vegetables. Stir for 2 mins until all ingredients are completely coated with curry sauce.
Slice off the top of the boule and dig out the white inner section of the bread leaving about an inch surrounding inside.
Gently scoop the vegetable curry into the bread bowl. Garnish with cut chillies and Thai sweet basil.
Thai Fried Tempeh with Cashew (Pad Med Mamuang Tempeh)
To Prep Cashew Nuts & Chillies
In a pot, heat ¾ cup of oil on medium heat.
Deep-fry cashew nuts until lightly golden (the cashew nuts will continue cooking even after they are taken out from the oil). Set aside.
Deep-fry dried chillies for 10 secs, set aside.
To Cook Tempeh
Coat tempeh with flour then deep fry in 2 cups of oil until golden brown, set aside.
To Serve
In a pan, heat oil over medium-high heat until the pan is hot.
Add garlic and onion and stir fry for 1 min, then turn to high heat.
Add capsicum then stir-fry for another 1 min.
Add all sauces, chilli paste and water to the pan, mix well.
Add tempeh and toss to coat the tempeh.
Top with cashew nuts, spring onion, and fried chillies to serve.
Home-style Air Fryer Vegetable Dumplings
To Make Vegetable Dumplings
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the filling and mix well.
Place 1 tbsp of filling onto dumpling wrapper, wet the edges with some water and fold in half. Pleat the folded edges while pressing to the back to seal dumplings.
Brush completed dumplings with some sesame seed oil before arranging them onto the air fryer basket.
To Cook
Air fry at 180°C for 12-15 mins or till dumplings turn golden brown.
To Make the Dipping Sauce
Mix all the ingredients for the dipping sauce and stir well.
Japanese Mild Curry
To Cook
Heat pot, add a small amount (approx 30ml) of vegetable oil and saute onions until it caramelises.
Add chicken and mushroom to the pot and further cook until the chicken is almost fully done.
Add carrots, potatoes, and water. Cook until the carrots and potatoes are tender.
Add broccoli and continue cooking until they cooked through or to your liking.
Add curry roux and stir until the roux is fully dissolved
Serve curry on freshly cooked rice.
Japanese Cold Ramen (Hiyashi Chuka)
To Make Sauce
Combine Sauce ingredients, except sesame oil, in a pot and bring to boil. Take off heat and cool in fridge.
Add crushed white sesame seeds and sesame oil in the cooled sauce to finish it off. Leave aside.
To Make Hiyashi Chuka
Cook noodles by following the instructions on the package. Cool in ice water then drain and leave aside.
In a bowl, place desired amount of noodles in the centre, followed by desired amount of salad. Then pour sauce over the top to serve.